Jefferson-Scranton is hoping on the technology train using computers in the classroom.

The Greene County High School will be starting a pilot program with Google Chromebooks in the classroom.  Google Chrome is the operating system on the 11-inch Chromebooks.  There is no software loaded onto the computers.  Through programs like Google Docs, a student can access their work from anywhere that has an internet connection.  Students can also share documents and send their work to their teacher without having to print anything off.

To start off with, Jefferson-Scranton Superintendent Tim Christensen says that the school district purchased 75 Chromebooks for the high school.  The pilot program will include two media carts and the English, Social Studies and Science Departments will use the Chromebooks first.  Christensen hopes to start the program soon.

“Hopefully within the next two weeks, again, those three departments will be using the Chromebooks.  An entire class will be able to use them for whatever project, for whatever they’re working on.”

Christensen believes that before the end of this school year, 150 of the 360 school districts will have some type of 1:1 program at some level.  He points out that some teachers from the district visited Pocahontas Area School District in December to see how those teachers are using Google Chromebooks.  Later this month, a group of Jefferson-Scranton teachers will travel to Council Bluffs School District, which is in its second year using Chromebooks,  for further first-hand experience with Chromebooks in the classroom.

Christensen wants people to understand that its not about the device, but how the district continues to improve learning.  He comments that this is just one way that the school district is changing the way students learn and the teachers educate.